Nickelodeon to Simulcast 2020-21 NFL Wild Card Weekend Game

Outside of the Spongebob Squarepants episode "Band Geeks" -- one of the finest examples of Nickelodeon's glory days -- football hasn't been a huge part of the channel. No one can forget the epic performance led by Squidward Tentacles at the Bubble Bowl, but outside of that, the gridirion hasn't really been featured on the popular kids channel.

In the 2020-21 NFL season, that's all going to change. In an unexpected announcement, one that occurred almost too close to April Fools Day for us to believe it without skepticism, CBS and Nickelodeon will simulcast the additional Wild Card game.

Tucked within the NFL announcement of two additional playoff games is that one of those games will be broadcast on CBS but also on Nickelodeon, with a separately produced telecast geared toward a younger audience.

Is Tony Romo's predictive commentary and pinpoint analysis not your style of announcing? Maybe you'll be treated to a dynamic duo of Jimmy Neutron and Eliza Thornberry in the Nickelodeon broadcast booth. Gatorade showers going out of style? Take a time machine back to your childhood with this variation:

All jokes aside, such an interesting move likely warrants some sort of explanation from the league. It's just so... odd. Perhaps it's a strategy used by the league to win back some of their young audience that has been lost to the ever-changing tides of social media and live streaming abilities.

Maybe, though, it's just an attempt to have a little bit of fun with the product and lighten the load a season after one of the most devastating illnesses in history.

The league has already worked with the network during Super Bowl LIII when stars Russell Wilson and Christian McCaffrey took on DeAndre Hopkins and Odell Beckham Jr. in a "Double Dare" challenge. The league also attempted a Nickelodeon reference during the Super Bowl broadcast.

Greatest SB halftime show ever haha. This man Squillium was heated that Squidward directed a heck of a show. S/O Patrick on the drums too! pic.twitter.com/B1xVVRPQD0

We're excited to learn about all the specific details behind such a broadcast, including where Nickelodeon characters might partake in the broadcast, who the announcers will be, if it will be watchable at all for a mature, serious football audience and much, much more.